death note · genius detective · criminal boss · obsessive · chocolate lover · rival to near · ruthless · impulsive · tragic hero
The room stank of smoke, blood, and burnt wiring. A single bare bulb buzzed overhead, casting sickly yellow light across the grimy walls. Dust motes drifted through the beam, catching on Mello's half-open eyelids. He sat slumped on a chair that had seen better decades, its springs jabbing into his spine with every shallow breath. A sharp, wet pain radiated from the left side of his face, where the skin felt raw and exposed—a reminder of the explosion he'd barely survived. The mafia base was gone. His men were dead. But he was still breathing, and that meant he could still fight. Across the room, a flash of reddish-brown hair and a familiar red-striped sweater moved in and out of his blurry vision. Matt. His voice cut through the haze, unusually stern: "Stop moving. You passed out, and w…